Naim Mu-so Qb Review
June 22, 2016 Comments Off on Naim Mu-so Qb Review
” The usual source in my kitchen/dining room is a Vita (now Ruark) R4, the largest of that range which has a similar price to the Qb yet lacks its ability to produce engaging music. I don’t have the latest R4 but suspect that it will only be the features that have changed in the current model, this type of product is usually bought for its looks and ability to do what average consumers need in spec terms. The Qb ticks both those boxes for my family at least, they liked the look of the lighting in the base and the general styling overall. ”
Sony NW-ZX100HN Portable Player and In-Ear Headphones Reviewed
June 22, 2016 Comments Off on Sony NW-ZX100HN Portable Player and In-Ear Headphones Reviewed
” While the NW-ZX100HN’s sales materials don’t promise that it can drive every headphone available, it did a good job with a majority of headphones I tried. Even with the Beyerdynamic DT-990 600-ohm version, the NW-ZX100HN had enough gain to play loud enough for my needs, although it was near maximum volume. With hyper-efficient in-ears like the Weston W-60, the player had ample power, and I found that I rarely got above 11 on the 1-to-100 volume scale.”
Baetis Audio Revolution III Media Server Review
June 21, 2016 Comments Off on Baetis Audio Revolution III Media Server Review
” The Baetis Revolution III doesn’t have much of a sound of its own, if any. While it has fans I only heard them when ripping, and it pretty much sat there on my rack silently, going about its music streaming business. The provided WD drive came with a bunch of music for review purposes but I preferred to mostly listen to mine, served from my NAS. Here’s what I found: the Revolution’s performance varied some depending on the DAC.”
Cayin iDAC-6 and iHA-6 Review
June 21, 2016 Comments Off on Cayin iDAC-6 and iHA-6 Review
” Actual D/A conversion itself is handled by a pair of 32-bit AKM AK4490 “Verita” chips operating in dual-mono mode. AKM’s flagship AK4490 is a fairly recent design, having just been launched within the past couple of years, and has turned up in some rather interesting gear—upscale kit such as Lindemann’s Musicbook 15, the top dog AK380 DAP from Astell&Kern, and the new Esoteric N-05 DAC/streamer. It also appears in the less extreme Teac UD-503 which is priced identically to the Cayin offering.”
DENON AH-MM400 HEADPHONES REVIEW
June 21, 2016 Comments Off on DENON AH-MM400 HEADPHONES REVIEW
” There was an odd problem, though. The headphones have a removable 3.5 mm cable, which plugs into the source on one end and the left earphone on the other. Sometimes after plugging it in, sound would only come out of one headphone until the cord was pulled out slightly. It usually cured itself, and was impossible to replicate. Checking some online comments revealed I wasn’t the only one to experience this problem. There are two cords in the box, and one has a plastic inline remote that sadly feels cheap in comparison to the headphones. In an unrelated issue, I also found the headphones uncomfortable to wear with glasses, forcing me to put the arms above the earphones.”
PEAR AUDIO BLUE KID THOMAS TURNTABLE REVIEW
June 21, 2016 Comments Off on PEAR AUDIO BLUE KID THOMAS TURNTABLE REVIEW
” Regardless of which cartridge was mounted on the tonearm, music never ventured into aggression, never lost drive, and never lost macro-dynamic impact. The soundstage was always wide and deep with the degree of saturation dependent of the cartridge installed at the time. The noise floor remained subjectively low—a trait not often found to this degree on sub-$10,000 ’tables. With either cartridge, it didn’t matter if the music played was jazz, classic rock, heavy metal, hip-hop, folk, blues, or classical. Whether solo piano or orchestral crescendos, the ’table performed with the same fundamental sonic character.”
Dynaudio Emit M10 REVIEW
June 20, 2016 Comments Off on Dynaudio Emit M10 REVIEW
“The Emit M10s unfurled a wall-to-wall soundstage with great depth as I played Brian Eno’s new album, “The Ship.” The first track is a rambling, ambient trip, with a churning low bass foundation that I could hardly believe was coming from speakers as small as these. I was so totally sucked into Eno’s slow-motion vortex of sound and texture that I forgot that I was listening to the Emit M10s; I was lost in the music.”
YAMAHA A-S801 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER AND YBA-11 BLUETOOTH WIRELESS ADAPTER
June 20, 2016 Comments Off on YAMAHA A-S801 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER AND YBA-11 BLUETOOTH WIRELESS ADAPTER
” Finally, I challenged the A-S801 with full orchestra, playing Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony’s recording of a favorite piece: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 [Reference Recordings/NativeDSD]. (If you’re unfamiliar with NativeDSD.com, its rapidly growing catalog specializes in downloads of high-resolution music recorded in DSD and DXD formats, including DSD256.) The opening bars nearly blew me off the couch, since I had forgotten to reduce the listening level after playing Just a Little Lovin’. But even at that level, there was no strain to the sound. The DSD128 indicator light on the A-S801’s front panel came on verifying that the A-S801’s DAC was indeed playing that extra-high-resolution format, and the orchestral sound was gloriously natural—tons of detail, harmonically rich, with distinct but continuous dynamic levels.”
AUDEZE SINE PORTABLE HEADPHONES REVIEW
June 19, 2016 Comments Off on AUDEZE SINE PORTABLE HEADPHONES REVIEW
” Rush’s 2112 is a unique classic rock recording that offers outstanding spaciousness and complexity. It’s not just a guitar, bass guitar, drums and vocals and when played through the SINE headphones its brilliance really shines through. Many on-ear headphones struggle with this recording and sound too closed in and lose a lot of the details that really make this album special; but this is certainly not the case with Audeze’s SINEs. Geddy’s vocals were equally brilliant and the raw energy of his voice shone throughout the record. As well, Robert Plant’s equally energetic vocals were spot on and the vocal range was a very strong suit for the SINE headphones; throw in the brilliance of Jimmy Page’s guitar work and raw thump and power of John Bonham’s drum work, I would wholeheartedly recommend these headphones for you rock fans out there!”
Mola Mola Kaluga Mono Amplifiers $16,500 Review
June 19, 2016 Comments Off on Mola Mola Kaluga Mono Amplifiers $16,500 Review
” During the months I listened to the Kaluga, and regardless of the preamplifier used — at first my Ayre Acoustics KX-R Twenty, then Mola Mola’s Makua, and finally Ayre’s Codex in variable output mode — I experienced an ease that I’d hoped for but could not assume I would hear. This ease not only defied the conventional wisdom regarding the limitations of class-D sound, but embodied the sense of musical reality often attributed to and associated most closely with class-A amplification.”
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